Fear
by xDisgraceful Avengerx
Summary: What was it...that had made that girl in the subway so absolutely horrified that she had taken her own life? Something of a greater caliber than even death, Homura imagined. But she couldn't be sure. The only way would be to find out herself. AU. Future MadoHomu.
1. Terrified

**So...new story! I was looking so hard for something I could crossover with Madoka Magica, and finally settled on (not the most perfect choice) Marebito. For those of you who don't know it, it's classic, Japanese horror with a little bit of fantasy. Also, since I couldn't find anything that was, as I would say, "perfectly perfect", I'm sure my characterization will be a bit off, so please feel free to criticize!**

* * *

Homura looked over the tape the video camera had recorded. The apartment, with it's torn up shutters and slightly open window was a mystery to her. The woman who had lived there. What had happened to her? She was almost sure that the woman has been a substance abuser, living in a small apartment with her paranoia. Though the paranoia was of little interest. Slowly, she turned to the notepad sitting on her table and picked up the pencil. In small letters she began to scrawl words. _By looking at her through the lens, I believe I've salvaged her soul. _

The news sounded in the back corner of the room. "A tragedy occurred today at a Subway station in east Mitakihara. It was shot by freelance camera artist Homura Akemi , who happened to be at the scene of a bizarre suicide that occurred earlier today."

She turned, holding a finger to her lips as the voices of the recording were heard from the television. "Don't do it. Calm down." The girl on the screen was shaking uncontrollably. "Let go of the knife," one of the officers said.

And the girl shoved the knife through her eye. Homura paused the tape, looked back to her notebook. _Sayaka Miki was without a steady income. She was paying no attention to anybody at the site, including myself. _She paused, hand stopping. Should she assume...? The look in Sayaka's eyes had been clear enough. _She was too terrified to notice them. Did she, perhaps, stab herself in the eye to avoid seeing... whatever terrified her?_

Homura honed in on the eyes of the girl, the startled, terrified eyes.

"I want to see...what she saw."

* * *

Among the images she'd captured in her time, there were many strange mysterious things, that appeared to be such abnormalities as ghosts or unidentified flying objects. But to Homura, they meant nothing. She figured it was because such things had already been defined as strange. Seeing such things made the people nervous, unlike the absolute look of fear on Sayaka's face as she killed herself.

She paused the news, looking at the girl's face. It was a girl, being brutally beaten about the head with a metal pipe. The news reporter had assumed such a video was sent in by the murderer themself. Homura examined the girls eyes. _The fear...doesn't seem quite real._ If the ultimate terror was to have your own mind and body destroyed by others...she could go so far as to imitate a psychopath to examine the terror of a person on tape. Not that she would.

Whatever it was that had terrified that girl in the subway...was something far beyond the thought of death.

* * *

**This is just an introduction, the rest will definitely be longer. But until then...**


	2. The Netherworld

**So...man, I'm not too sure where I'm going with this. Please bear with me, dear readers.**

* * *

_I have to stay focused. Otherwise, there's no way I'll be able to see that which I must see._ Homura thought, walking through the crowded subway station, her camera tucked under her arm. She shoved past person after person, going against the crowd as she drew nearer and nearer to the location of the suicide. _They weren't terrified to see what they saw...they saw what they saw because they were terrified. I had it all wrong._

She came to a long set of narrow, white stairs, and began the long traversal down them, one step at a time. Slowly, she approached the wall of the scene from the tape. raising her camera to her shoulders, looking through the eye toggle. It was almost as though she could see the scene playing out in front of her yet again; the memory was so vivid inside her head, a memory that had not yet been lost to time. She pulled herself away, lowering the camera, and staring at the wall. _I realize that the image she saw is more realistic._ She paused. _What did Sayaka Miki see?_

She raised the camera up again, staring through the viewfinder at the wall ahead. On the wall, there was a small, orange colored square that she could barely make out in the recording of the suicide.

_Do I have the courage to open the passage of a terror that could drive me to want to kill myself?_

All of a sudden, there was a long, high piched wail from the other end of the tunnel. Homura turned, unperturbed, to face the opposite end of the hall. She lowered the camera and took a step forward.

The sound echoed again. Homura began to walk faster, then faster still, camera held out in front of her. She pushed in the single door at the end of the corridor, camera panning in on yet another long set of stairs, this time, spiral.

The room was dark, filled with pipes and numerous machinery. The stench would have made any other person cringe. Homura continued down the stairs, stopping at a pipe covered wall, and turning, to walk along the length of the room. A worker crossed a beam over head and she ducked down, pressing back against the pipes, trying to conceal herself, and having no problem in doing such. The worker's footsteps ceased, and Homura stood again, walking briskly toward the set of stairs barely visible on the other side of the room.

A wail came again, and she found herself peering into the blackness at the stairs landing, unable to see a thing. She placed a foot on the first stair.

The wail came again, louder.

Homura raised the camera.

The zoom button angled, locking onto a sharp light on one side of the room. As the scene came into focus, Homura could just see a small movement. The movement grew more rapid, and all of a sudden, there it was. Something.

Homura gasped, and the camera fell from her grasp as the thing turned it's head to her. But as soon as the viewfinder fell from her eye...it was gone.

She began to walk into the darkness, drawing closer to the place where the camera had detected the thing, but there was nothing. Nothing, except for a long, white cloth hanging from the ceiling. She edged past it, drawing her strength and raising the camera again. The pitchness of the room consumed her. She could barely see a foot in front of her. She turns the camera, trying to survey the blackness so she can edge through it. There, on her right, something caught her eye. A kanji, printed in black, above a small entryway. Homura grasped the wall, as she bent down next to the cavern.

_Is it fear of the unknown, that compels me to enter?_

She crawled inside. The small room was crowded with pipes, a ladder upwards in front of her. She stood, climbing far enough to set her camera down at the top of the ladder, before hauling herself up through the opening. Cold air came up from a pit just in front of the top rung. Stairs, spiraling downward, broken and old as though they hadn't been used in years.

_Beneath Mitakihara lies a labyrinth of uncharted stairs and passages. It's an urban myth. _She paused in her thought. _It's not a myth._

The doorway was small, smaller than the enterance to the cavern before. She pushed on the door, and it swung open with ease. Homura pulled herself through the opening, dropping to the floor gracefully, when she realized.

Her camera was gone.

But the wail sounded, and she knew she had no choice other than to continue. She grabbed for the flashlight ahnging around her neck, and flipped it on.

"Stay away!" Something cried, as the light shone directly into the eyes of a person, huddled in a corner. Homura said nothing, watching as his shaking grew worse and worse. _Why is he shaking? Why is he so alarmed? Has he seen it?_

"Seen it?" The figure asked, and Homura looked up. "Yes, I've seen it. But you should go. It isn't safe down here at all."

"Why?" Homura asked sharply.

"Because of them...the Witches...if they see you down here...they'll suck your blood dry!" The figure said, cackling, as it pulled the blanket tighter around it's shoulders.

_He...was definitely haunted by terror. _

Homura continued down the hallway, without glancing back at the figure even once.

"Ieeeeeee!" The wail sounded, and Homura frowned, touching her hand to the wall. She leaned in, pressing her ear to the brick as the eerie sound came again. Her eyes widened. Inside...?

_Who is beyond the wall?_

"Who hides behind it?" She whispered. _I;ve crossed the boundary to the netherworld alive. It must mean I'm sufficiently terrified._

_But I've been invited here. But why?_

* * *

Homura sat up from where she was leaned against the earthy wall, looking around. A footstep could be heard in the distance. Footsteps, and the sound of water running down stone. But were they really footsteps?

_I'm very exhausted. I'm not sure I can make logical conclusions._

A light flashed on as the footsteps drew nearer and nearer. Homura turned her head. At the edge of her vision, she could see a girl with short, blue hair, wearing a blue jacket and a plaid skirt.

"Well...I haven't seen you around before." The girl said.

"This must be the netherworld." Homura replied, staring the girl in the eyes.

The girl raised her head. "Many think that the area beneath the Earth is the netherworld. It's only because they don't know what's underneath. This is widely conceived as the world beyond."

Homura nodded her head, turning away. "You're a talkative ghost, aren't you, Sayaka?"

* * *

Sayaka smiled, sitting down beside Homura, crosslegged.

"Do you think I'm actually a ghost? My name is actually Sayaka..." she turned her head. "Have we met?"

"No." Homura answered monotonely. "You haven't seen me before, but I've seen you."

"Oh..." Sayaka said, sighing. "You are different from those who come here to escape."

Homura shook her head. Sayaka smirked, looking to the cavern ceiling, before standing, taking hold of her lantern once again.

"Come."

CHAPTER 1 END


	3. The Girl in the Ruins

**Chapter 3 of Fear. I'm actually getting sorta into this now, I hope you are.**

* * *

Sayaka and Homura walked down the hallway, Homura's eyes lingering on the rock walls and the candles lying beside them. Sayaka did not talk, and Homura felt contented with that. She wasn't too much of a talker anyway.

The tunnel was long, full of twists and turns. Sayaka took the right at an intersection and Homura, figuring it wise, followed closely behind her. "The underdweller you met earlier...she mentioned Witches?" Sayaka began, and Homura turned her head.

"Hn?" Homura questioned.

Sayaka shook her head, eyes focusing on the ground. "You'd better be careful," she said simply, holding her lantern further out in front of her. "But you're a quick learner, aren't you? I'm sure you'll understand, even better than myself."

"I understand nothing yet," Homura whispered, moving to stand in front of the girl, turning to face Sayaka in such a way that she had to stop walking. "I want to know what was so terrifying when you died. The horror I saw on your face..." she trailed off. "I came here to figure out what that was."

Sayaka raised her head. "So you're saying that I'm dead. Dead before I reached what I was promised." She raised her head. "If you truly watched me die..." She raised the lantern to her face, and blew out the candle.

* * *

_It doesn't matter if I have lost my mind. __But I want to stay sane enough to recognize her terror. _She looked around blindly in the dark, trying to find something to focus on. Her hands grasped for the wall, as she turned, trying to find a light, any light.

And there it was. To her left, Homura saw a long-stretching tunnel, lit, with wooden supports. At the end of the tunnel, she could make out sunlight and a large pile of rocks. Homura glanced behind herself just once. Nobody was there. Sayaka wasn't there. She began to move forward into the tunnel, taking cautious but quick steps until she reached the sunlight.

The world was bright, made entirely of rocks, stalagtites and stalagmites hanging down and poking up in every which way. An expansive rock wall lay in front of her, a small pathway to the area beyond just visible beside it. Homura looked up to the top of the wall, trying to see how far it stretched. It was impossible to tell. _The mountains of madness,_ she thought. _Similar to the ones described in Richard Shaver's book, written in the 1920s, about a world beneath the world, and the mysterious creatures that inhabited it._

She walked toward the pathway, following it until she was stopped at a large ravine. _There must be ancient ruins in the ravines. _She walked toward the edge of the cliff, and began to traverse down the long, narrow pathway behind the wall.

* * *

Homura exited through a small door on the side of a pyramid-like structure. She turned, looking at the architecture, before turning forward again. She began to walk along the row of doors, slowly, looking around the clearing in suspicion.

_This is not the creation of man, but the creation of underdwellers. _She thought. She came to a set of stairs and began to climb them, one step at a time.

_I'm not the only being here. I can feel it._

She reaches a thin passageway that sloped downwards, perfectly carved into the rock of the ruins, almost like it had been designed by an architect in the city. Her footsteps echoed in the tunnel as she walked down the path, and as such, she began to make her steps more measured, and more quiet. But as she reached the bottom of the path, she was greeted by the sight of something she hadn't expected.

There, chained to a rock, was a naked girl with light pink hair, pale skin, and the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen.

Homura stopped abruptly, keeping her guard up. The girl's hair blew in the wind as she stared at something off in the distance. Then, slowly, her head began to turn. Homura approached her, kneeling, eyes locking on to the beautiful girl's. The girl turned her head upward, staring Homura straight in the eye. And then she opened her mouth.

* * *

**Sorry for lack of length, I'm rather pressed for time this evening.**


	4. The Call

**Chapter 4. Thank you to my two fantastic reviewers, Faust91x and Timmy Sparx. You guys encourage me to update so quickly!**

* * *

"Ma-do-ka." The girl said, and Homura frowned.

"Is that your name?"

The girl said nothing, simply looked at the chain affixing her to the rock before turning her head back to Homura. "He-lp."

* * *

Homura was affixing the camera to the inside of the door, determined to record how her interview went. She could hear footsteps coming up the stairs, and quickly fiddled with the pliers, making to jam the lens into the peephole of the apartment door. Then, she sat down in one of the chairs, crossing her legs as a woman entered the room.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting. I'm Tomoe." The blonde woman said, sitting down across from her. "Is it hot in here? Perhaps I should turn on the air conditioning?"

"It's fine." Homura said roughly, wanting to keep the conversation straight and to the point.

"So...Miss Akemi, correct? You are a trained news cameraman?"

"My last agency worked closely with the news, yes," Homura answered.

"Here we do all types of filming, not just news. Please be prepared. We have even been asked to do some television dramas before." Miss Tomoe said. "When we have a production, we'll put you down for it." She smiled, letting out a light chuckle.

"That's fine." Homura responded.

"You're hired." The woman finally said. "Congratulations, and welcome to the family!"

* * *

Homura walked home to her apartment, taking the back roads, and going up three flights of stairs. The interior of her home was dark, unlit but for a small bit of sunlight filtering in through the pulled blinds. She walked through the apartment, straight to the back where her viewing screens were located, and flipped on a lamp next to the desk. The trick with the camera during the interview had paid off. She had known it would. Now it would be much easier to survey the apartment while she was away.

Homura dropped the bag full of groceries next to her desk, hearing a groan, and bending down to look beneath the structure. The pink-haired girl lay there, apparently asleep. Homura stared at her for several moments, before once again standing, and flipping off the light.

* * *

Madoka sat up, knocking over the camera. A loud crash resounded through the back room. Homura walked over, a cup of coffee held in her right hand. She reaached down, reset the camera's position, and looked toward Madoka. The girl looked at the cup of coffee with suspicion, sniffing it. Homura held it out. Madoka recoiled, crawling further beneath the desk.

* * *

Homura watched herself on the screen, camera looking down on her apartment from the ceiling. She could see the puzzled expression on her face as she sipped at the cup of coffee slowly, ever so slowly. Then she leaned in, affixing her eyes on a screen at the far right of her desk. On it was the recording of herself, touching the girl's face, brushing her hair back, examining her eyes. Her eyes...held a distant, confused look. Homura couldn't help but wonder how long the girl had been chained to that rock. She continued to watch as her hand pulled on the girls cheeks, exposing her teeth. That was the thing she couldn't figure out. The girl had unusually sharp canines, gums retracted so high up you couldn't see them without pulling the lip back. Homura leaned back in her chair, taking another swig of coffee, as the camera recording pulled away, drawing down the girl's body until it reached her swollen ankle where the chain had been placed. She watched attentively as her hand moved in front of the camera, touching the skin lightly. The girl pulled back, hissing. The recording ended.

Homura looked behind her chair at the girl sleeping on the couch, blissfully unaware of everything around her.

_I tentatively decided to use the name she gave me. Madoka. _She wrote in her document journal. _Not that I actually call her by that name. I don't know how old she is, but obviously... _The woman trailed off, holding up her pencil, before placing it back to the paper and writing in that light, spidery handwriting. _...this is the first time for her to meet a human. Madoka does not eat or drink anything. She is only awake for three hours or so in a day._

* * *

"Hello! This is Sakura Okami in Shinjuku!" The woman Homura was recording for said in a rather peppy voice. "We're here to check on the latest fashion trends! Let's see...any young couples...? Oh, over here!"

Homura turned the camera.

"Hi," the woman said to the couple. "Would you like to be on television?"

Her coworker snapped at her, turning to Homura. "Stop! Stop the recording! We're moving!" He called.

* * *

Homura sat on the stairs as the coworkers talked to each other, staring into the recording on her phone. The footage was taken from the video camera set up inside her apartment. She wanted to keep an eye on the girl. There was just something...off...about her. She watched as Madoka quickly stumbled across the floor toward the desk, spinning around a chair next to her, looking around. Her eyes settled on something on the desk, but just as Homura thought she would do something, the girl dropped down, and crawled back under the desk.

* * *

"Ho-mu-ra A-ke-mi." Homura said to the girl, whose eyes were wide open, and head bobbing up and down. "Ho-mu-ra A-ke-mi." She tried again. Madoka's mouth moved, and while it looked as though she were trying to pronounce the letters, nothing came out. "Ho-mu-ra." Homura prompted. But Madoka said nothing.

_Perhaps the vocal cords are impared from being inactive. She came from a world where vocalizing was unneccessary._Homura paused in her writing. _Of course, that does not explain how she so easily gave me her name._

* * *

Homura looked around the store as the woman asked, "How old is your sister?"

"No, she's not my sister," Homura said, without thinking. "She's...a friend." The words were odd on her tongue.

"Then how about this one! It would look lovely on her." The storekeeper held up a green and white ruffled blouse.

"Perhaps something...more plain..." Homura said bluntly. The woman frowned, but instead went back to the shelf, picking up a light pink shirt.

"This one?"

"Yes. That will do."

* * *

Homura held up her phone, examining the latest footage of the girl, staring at the window, nodding her head up and down, mouth moving to form syllables.

_Who is Madoka talking to?_ She wondered, before raising her head, eyes widening. She turned around quickly. Behind her was a tall figure, with a long black coat, and black glasses affixed to his face. Homura looked around, trying to see if anyone else had reacted. No. Nobody else could see it. Homura turned, and began to walk away briskly. She could feel the dark figure's eyes on her back as she left, but did not look back.

* * *

Homura returned to her apartment that evening. She began to open the door, but stopped abruptly, turning. Slowly, she walked over to the stairwell, and looked down. A woman stood there, long, red hair, and a blue shirt. Homura pretended not to notice, walking back to the door of her darkened apartment, and closing it swiftly behind her.

It took her several moments to turn on the light. That's when she noticed Madoka, huddled into a ball on the floor, trembling wildly. Homura leaned down next to her, arms shaking her lightly. _What's happened? _She questioned inwardly.

Suddenly, Madoka retched, pitching forward, causing Homura to lean back as the girl shook, choking. Homura looked down at Madoka's form, and an idea struck her. _That's insane, _she thought, as she stood up. _What am I doing?_

She moved quickly toward her desk, rummaging around in the drawers, eyes still on the screen.

Then there was a buzzing noise, and the screens went dead. Homura stopped what she was doing, looking up in shock. _Impossible. Footage doesn't clear itself until the tape stops._

And just like that, the screens flashed back on. And there was Madoka, on the ground, shaking. _12 seconds..._ Homura thought, looking down. _What happened in those twelve seconds?_

The phone rang, and Homura quickly picked it up. "Who is this?" She asked demandingly.

"Who I am is irrelevant to the problem you have," the voice replied. "You are in serious trouble. Do you realize that?"

"How so?" Homura questioned.

"There's someone there who shouldn't be. She can't survive like that. You think that you're saving her. But you're not."

The line went dead.

* * *

**End Chapter 4.**


	5. Blood

**Chapter 5. Reviews make me happy. So I'm updating early. I'm really excited to be posting this chapter, short as it is. It's very twisted.**

* * *

The sun was setting outside. Homura stared at the broken camera on the ground, ignoring the small cut that had been left on her finger as she'd tried to piece together the lens.

"It's alright; we'll get you a new camera." Mami had promised. Homura could care less. She had numerous others in her apartment.

* * *

Homura returned home to a dark apartment as usual, her hands empty. She headed straight into the back room, lit only by the rays of dying sunlight from outside, and sat down on the small bed. Madoka was crouched under a shelf beside the bed, and as Homura entered, her head turned, eyes looking up to focus on the woman's face.

"I'm back," Homura said. "Did you sleep all day again?"

Madoka said nothing, just stared intently at Homura's hand. Homura looked down.

"I dropped a camera today. The glass cut my finger."

Madoka moved closer, and Homura held out her finger, moving it closer to Madoka. The idea she'd had the night before came into her head again, but she barely had time to think, as Madoka's tongue slowly moved to lick her finger. She began to move her tongue over the wound, until all the blood had gone, before looking up at Homura, wide-eyed. Homura stood, and walked to the kitchen, grabbing a knife from one of her drawers.

_I **can** save her._

She walked back to the bed and sat down, placing the knife at the intersection between her thumb and index finger, pressing the sharp metal down, and drawing a long line across her hand. Blood spurted down onto the floor, dribbling off from the incision. Madoka looked at Homura, and Homura nodded, as Madoka bowed her head to the ground, licking at the trail of blood spread across the floor, until there was no more. Homura held her hand out, and Madoka took the cut in her mouth, sucking away the blood, as Homura watched in something akin to fascination- and horror.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Homura could hear a voice; the voice of the underdweller. "Beware of the Witches! They'll suck your blood dry!" But she shoved it out, as she focused on Madoka's sharp canines sinking into her skin.

_This won't be a problem._

* * *

_I liked it. I want to keep feeding her, until she's totally satisfied. Until she's totally safe. _Homura thought, before something close to a smile appeared on her face. _Of course, what it means is my own death._

She watched as Madoka stared up at her from where she was sitting, next to the camera artist's desk. Homura turned her head away.

_My death...it doesn't bother me...not since the accident._ She contemplated. _But...what will happen to her- to Madoka- if I die?_

Homura eyed the blood on the floor, before writing another note in her journal.

_She doesn't mind animal blood, but..._

_...nothing makes her content like human blood._

* * *

Homura flipped on a light, heading into her apartment again. It had been a tiring day at work. In one hand, she clenched two sacks made of cloth. Madoka wandered over, sniffing at the sacks, and Homura dropped them at the feet of the girl, who ripped into them hungrily. Homura sat on the couch, watching her.

_I gave up treating her like a human; she knows nothing of this world. She is like an animal. She doesn't understand me, doesn't understand anything. An animal. That's all she should be to me. That's all I should care for her._

Homura blinked once.

* * *

The camera panned in on the apartment. Madoka was watching the TV, as Homura sat beside her, observation journal in hand. _Recently, she has begun to behave like a human. Walking, watching movies. I cannot distinguish how such things came about. It's probably...just her imitating me._

_What is Madoka anyway?_

She dropped the pencil, as the underdweller's words rang in her mind again. _'Beware of the witches- they'll suck your blood dry!'_

Was that it, a witch? _Why does she only feed on blood? Perhaps, she is what Sayaka Miki was so scared of. _Homura paused. _Speculation is that she was raised on blood, instead of milk from a young age. Being from the Netherworld, this would not be so unusual. No human would have raised her. Some creature from the Netherworld. It must be. Perhaps I should assume these 'witches' brought her up._

* * *

Homura was walking to work, camera in hand, from the back route of her apartment. Her mind would not leave Madoka. She found herself wondering what the girl was doing, why she was like she was, nearly eveery moment. She barely noticed it when a young woman stepped in front of her. Her appearance was familiar- long, bright red hair and a blue shirt, but she couldn't put a finger on it.

"Did you hurt yourself?" The woman asked.

"Who are you?" Homura retorted.

"What's wrong with you?" The woman asked, voice growing shrill. "You hurt yourself? Ha. Unbelievable." She laughed, before a tear leaked from her eye. "She's missing."

"Who's missing?" Homura asked, raising an eyebrow.

"She's missing! Sayaka, she's missing! You know where she is, don't you? Don't you!" She yelled.

Homura stumbled away from the woman. "I don't know anybody by that name."

"You liar! I'll take her away from you, your precious person! I'll kill you both!" The red-haired woman yelled, cackling. Homura continued walking, looking back only once.

_Madness is contageous. Recently, I attract madness. But why? Who was she, and why was she looking for a dead girl?_

* * *

**Chapter 5 End**


	6. Murderer

**I won't stop updating this story! I love it, and I'm on an updating rampage! Watch out, readers! Mahahahaha!**

**Anyway, here's Chapter 6 of Fear. Also, if anyone has read my other Puella Magi Madoka Magica story (Welcome to the Quiet Room) and have ideas for it, please PM me!**

* * *

Homura was greeted upon her return to her apartment by a door with a broken lock hanging halfway out of the hole. A sound like footsteps echoed from behind her, and she quickly reached for the doorknob, slamming the door inwards, walking around straight to the back room. The house was a mess; looked like it had been ransacked by someone. Homura dropped to her knees by the closet Madoka had been sleeping in. There was no one there. She began pacing, pacing around the house, checking under everything. No sign of the pink-haired girl anywhere.

Slowly, Homura turned to her desk. The cameras were unwired, the glass of her screens broken. She raised her hands, fisted them in her hair, but didn't make a sound, instead opting to exit her apartment. She walked down a flight of stairs, trying to stay calm, even though she felt as though she might be losing it. When she reached the street, she looked around, once, twice. Nothing. Was it that red-haired woman? She'd threatened her, yelled at her. She knew something, Homura was sure of it.

_If she...if Madoka left my apartment of her own will...she wouldn't be so far away. She can hardly walk. _Homura nodded to affirm the thought, though inwardly her mind was racing. She began to run alongside the fence that she walked past everyday, until she came to the highway.

_What if...someone took her away? No, no "what if's". They're illogical. _Homura thought. Though she entertained the probability of Madoka beind taken away, she was desperately forcing herself not to believe it.

She leaned against the side of a building, closing her eyes shut tightly as she looked up at the sun in the sky. Somewhere...there was a banging somewhere. It was giving her a headache...

Homura fell, and upon opening her eyes, she noticed everything was dark. It wasn't daytime. How could she see the sun, if it wasn't daytime? She blinked twice, standing again. In front of her sat a figure, silhouetted in black, inhuman in appearance. Homura forced herself to stand, and cautiously began to approach the figure.

_I'm not...giving her up. _She thought to herself. _I saved Madoka. I'm not giving her up._

She fell to her knees as she tried to walk. She couldn't figure out...what had made her so weak. "Has she...gone back to the ruins?" Homura asked.

"So you failed, didn't you?" A voice asked. "I'd had some difficulty with you. For a while, I thought you might actually be the one to save her. But you weren't. So I have no use for you." The figure moved past her, and Homura shook her head, forcing herself to stand once again.

"Who...the hell are you?"

"My name," the figure spoke. "Is Kyubey."

* * *

Homura returned to her apartment hours later, feeling as though she had been hit by the force of a thousand guns. She slumped down on the bed, turning her head, only to see Madoka sleeping on the floor, not a speck of blood or dirt on her body. Or at least...nothing except for on her hands. Her nails were filthy, fingers caked in red. Homura sighed, leaning back against the wall.

Sighing, Homura pulled a blanket over Madoka's body, before returning to her desk. The news was on, televising pictures of random people. Homura ignored it, as she set out to try and repair her cameras.

* * *

Homura exited her apartment the next morning, taking the route next to the chainlink fence that she usually walked. She could sense someone staring at her back, but pretended not to notice as the figure began to trail her, rounding a corner, and turning around so that her follower ran straight into her.

"You have to listen to me," the red-haired woman said. "You owe me an explaination. I'm here, so tell me!"

Homura turned and began to walk away again.

"You can't just ignore me." The woman said. "Nobody ignores Kyoko Sakura! I'm going to make you talk to me today."

Homura continued walking.

"Stop pretending you don't know anything!" Kyoko said. "Hey!" A pause as they rounded another corner. "Stop treating me like shit! I know you can hear me." She trailed off. "Listen, I know Sayaka's with you. I just want to see her! So stop pretending!"

Homura leaned down, pulling a video camera from her bag.

"Say something already!" Kyoko groaned. "Fine. If you won't talk, I'll make you talk-" she began to pull a switchblade from her pocket, but before she managed to retract it completely, a gunshot echoed, and Kyoko fell to the ground, dead.

* * *

Homura finished syphoning the blood into the plastic container, leaving the scene. She was lucky that she hadn't gotten any blood on the camera lens; that would have been a problem.

She couldn't decide whether she felt guilty over the kill. Kyoko was crazy; it could be considered euthanization, perhaps. And either way, it was to help Madoka. Or perhaps she was just saying that to save her conscience.

* * *

Homura set up the cameras in the apartment once again. Everything was going well, she thought.

* * *

"Do you always take that camera everywhere with you?" The woman asked. "You're a pervert, aren't you?" Homura scowled, but said nothing. "I want you to make me look pretty. Never tell my school about this! I'm dead if they find out!" She paused, looking at Homura. "So are we going to have the interview here?"

Homura gestured with the camera.

"Over there? I don't think so!" The girl exclaimed.

A few minutes later, a gunshot was heard.

* * *

_Anybody in fear is beautiful. But if it's fear of death, it's only mediocre._

Homura stared into the camera as Madoka finished drinking blood from the plasic bottle. _I don't even know myself anymore._

Madoka looked at her affectionately. "Ma-do-ka," she said, and Homura looked up, surprised. "Ma-do-ka hap-py. Th-ank Ho-mu-ra." The pink-haired girl sounded out, grinning, and Homura stared at her blankly. She had saved her. She had saved Madoka. She was helping her.

She looked down at her cell, and pressed a button.

The phone rang. A second time. And a third. On the fourth ring, it picked up.

"Madoka is happy." Homura said into the phone. "_I_ made her content. You should have no complaints now."

* * *

In the darkness of the ruins, Kyubey smiled. "No complaints," he said in a cheery voice. "You're absolutely right, Homura Akemi-chan."

* * *

**End Chapter 6.**


	7. Chaos

**Okay, I really need to get a life. Do you see how quickly I'm updating? Anyway, Chapter 7. Probably just one more chapter after this, guys. I hope you're as excited as I am for the ending. **

* * *

Homura walked down the street, Madoka cowering slightly behind her, grasping tightly to Homura's hand. The pink-haired girl looked around at the shops in wonder, peering into windows and through doors as they passed store after store. She stopped abruptly at one of the windows, looking at two pink hair ribbons, and smiled. Homura turned around to see the girl looking up at her questioningly.

"No," Homura said bluntly, and Madoka, frowning, continued to follow her through the streets.

They sat down on a step near the park a few minutes later, Homura sipping coffee, and Madoka drinking from a metal waterbottle filled with blood as they surveyed the square. People milled about separately and in groups both, paying no attention to the video camera Homura was looking through intently.

* * *

Inside the dimly-lit room, Madoka was sucking rapidly at Homura's cut arm, trying to get as much blood as possible. Homura groaned in pain, brushing back Madoka's hair.

"That's enough," Homura ordered, but Madoka didn't stop. Homura pushed the girl slightly, and she seemed to take the hint, drawing back, looking into the camera that was recording them. Homura flipped a switch and the lens closed, camera shutting off. Madoka lay down on the small couch, curling into a ball. Homura glanced over to her once, before standing, and moving to leave the apartment. She closed the door carefully behind her, locking it, before walking down the hall, past a man knocking frantically on a door.

* * *

_I took a train without deciding on a destination. _Homura turned her head to the window beside her, looking outside at the grey sky and dark, billowing clouds and tattered structures.

She slowly faced forward again as the transport approached a stop, and standing, walked down the steps and out to the train stop.

Eventually, she ended up on a cliffside, overlooking the large river. And there she sat, for hours. And hours. Until..._I don't remember how long I've been here._

She paused in her thought, looking to the small fishing village behind her.

_I should find a job in the village. Maybe work...until the day that I die. Perhaps that's how my life should be. _She continued to stare out at the rippling tides of the water, lost in thinking, until a voice sounded from behind her.

"Do you want to come home?"

Homura's head turned slowly, and there, standing behind her, was Sayaka Miki.

"Home?" Homura asked.

"We have come from the depths of the ocean." Sayaka said, staring out at the expanse of water. "Have you forgotten that?"

"No," Homura answered, sighing.

"Crawling under the pressure of beautiful water," Sayaka said, a gleam in her eye. "Humans were so much wiser then." She crouched, taking a seat beside Homura on the cliff.

Homura turned her head away. "What did you see?" She asked.

"What?" Sayaka asked, confused.

"You looked as though you'd seen something terrifying that day. What was it?" Homura continued. The water crashed on the shore, resounding loudly.

Sayaka looked toward the sky. "Yes...that's right..."

"I don't know why," Homura spoke. "But I long to experience your terror."

_"_That's because it would give you an adrenaline rush," Sayaka answered.

"No. It's because it is unknown to me." Homura replied.

* * *

_It was just pretence. I longed to be mad. I longed to experience such a terror that I would be driven to madness. As a result, I killed Sayaka Miki's best friend. I killed somebody I barely knew. Then I treated Madoka like an animal. But all of this...is not enough to drive me truly mad._

Homura stumbled through the park, over to the small cement shelter, and sat down. _That's how degenerated I've become._

She stood again, wandering to the chain link fence, stumbling down the trail back to her apartment, eyes cast downward, not looking, never looking. And then something moved in front of her and she looked up.

A creature, tall, with a body made out of seemingly randomated items, was moving across the sidewalk in front of her at an uneven pace. When Homura raised her head to stare at it, it wailed, long and loud.

_A witch...? _Homura questioned. The creature darted across the pathway and rounded the corner of a building before disappearing. Homura picked up her pace, bracing herself as she turned the corner. But there was nothing.

The phone rang in her pocket. Homura glanced down at her jacket, reaching for the item. It rang again. She didn't open it. It rang again. She didn't open it. Instead, she placed the phone back in her pocket, listening as the voicemail picked up.

"Ieeeeeeeeee!" Something wailed. "Ieeeeeeeeee!"

_Madoka. _Homura thought, and broke out into a run toward her apartment. _Those creatures...are there for her._

She reached the building, slamming open the door and ignoring the attendant who asked her what was wrong. Homura pushed the button for the elevator, immediately stepping inside as the door opened. She pressed a button and the door closed. Her body was trembling, shaking, as she stared forward, waiting for the door to open. Behind her stood Kyoko, eyes unblinking, not once moving from Homura's back.

The door opened, and Homura stepped out, trying to keep her calm. Wedged in the door of her apartment was a small knife, dripping blood.

Homura pulled out the knife from the lock, and opened the door. She began to walk around the darkened apartment, heading straight for the back room, guard fully raised.

On the floor lay Madoka, eyes shut, breathing heavily. Her skin was icy pale, and her eyes held barely any color.

* * *

**End Chapter 7.**

**Be excited for Chapter 8. It's a mindfuck.**


	8. Finale

**Chapter 8. Otherwise known as the last chapter. Big thanks to my readers for encouraging me to continue this to the end (and much quicker than anything I've ever written before). **

* * *

Homura approached Madoka slowly, dropping to her knees. Madoka's head slowly turned, and she blinked her eyes open.

"Ho-mu-ra...came back to me..." she whispered. Homura stared down at the girl, unmoving. Then, she quickly bent over, shoving Madoka against a wall and propping her into a sitting position.

"Did they get you?" She felt the sides of Madoka's neck desperately, before pulling out a knife. "I won't let you die."

Without any more words, she leaned in close to Madoka, and slowly stuck the knife into her mouth.

Homura groaned at the sudden pain, eyes widening as she tore the knife through to the other side of her mouth. Blood spilled from her lips, dripping over her chin and to the floor in quick succession. She leaned forward, pressing her lips to Madoka's, opening the girl's mouth with her blood covered lips, and pressing their tongues together.

Madoka began sucking at Homura's lips, tongue moving down her chin, and licking through the hidden corners of her mouth, trying desperately to lap up all the blood. Homura leaned back, letting the pink-haired girl do as she wanted, feeling her mouth grow dryer and dryer with the absense of blood. Her body started to ache, eyes beginning to close, as Madoka continued her minstrations, hands fumbling around Homura's shoulders, pulling them closer to each other, as she trailed her mouth down to Homura's blood-covered neck, mouth probing the icy pale skin, and Homura groaned. She wasn't sure...never planned for this to happen...

The camera sitting in the corner of the room began to fade out, and just as Homura lost consciousness, the screen went to black.

* * *

Homura carefully placed her foot on the first step. Then the next, and the next. Madoka was in front of her, looking at her with those encouraging eyes as she began to skip from one step to the next, dragging the dark-haired woman behind her. The video camera was clenched tightly in Homura's hand as the two moved further and further into the darkness.

Madoka looked back at Homura, noting the woman's pained face, the blood still spilling from her mouth, but said nothing. Homura felt Madoka's hand clench around hers, and found herself staring into the lens of her own camera, as she continued to walk down the spiral staircase, step by step. Madoka smiled to her, but Homura just stared ahead emptily.

_From now on, I'll never speak._ Homura thought. _Because I need no human words now. _They reached the landing, camera still held in Madoka's fragile hands. _I have her. I have Madoka. _

The camera dropped, lens shattering, and Homura kept walking.

* * *

They lay in the ruins together, Homura's head on Madoka's lap, the pink haired girl stroking back long strands of black hair. In front of them sat Kyubey, eyes staring straight at the trembling Homura. The witches focused on her, all odd forms and black eyes. In the far off distance, two girls watched, one with blue hair, the other with red.

Homura was bleeding. Her mouth was bleeding, and she didn't think it would ever stop. She shook, her eyes focusing on nothing.

"You don't have to fear them," Kyubey said. "You're safe."

Homura stared forward as the blue haired girl walked out of the shadows, moved to stand next to Kyubey, red haired girl trailing her and leaning on her shoulder.

"Your wishes..." Sayaka started. "To understand what terrified me...to protect that girl..." She grinned darkly. "They were granted, right?" Sayaka slowly turned away. "I never said anything, tried to help you...but I could tell what you really were. You belong down here with the rest of them."

Kyoko smirked. "She's right, for once."

Homura couldn't get rid of the fear welling inside her, and she continued to stare, eyes forced wide open, until a pale hand covered them, and light pink hair fell in her face, as Madoka's lips touched her own.

Then everything was black, once again.

* * *

**Fin...or is it?**

**(There may be one more chapter...depends. Do you guys want one? If not, thanks so much for reading! For those of you who stuck it out till the end, I really appreciate it.)**


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